User:Gegunter050/sandbox

It might be beneficial to begin editing by giving a bit more clear of a definition of "heritage language." The article also needs many more sources in order to improve on and add content. As of now, the sources are coming from sources that are primarily focused on Slavic languages, so we can definitely pull from different places. Some other sections that could be added include sections about the similarities and dissimilarities between native language and heritage language, the development of heritage language or how someone learns a heritage language, motivations for heritage language learning, and/or how experiences may differ for different learners. Below are some sources that may be helpful in learning more about heritage language learning for drafting an article:

LEEMAN, JENNIFER, LISA RABIN, and ESPERANZA ROMÁN-MENDOZA. "Identity and Activism in Heritage Language Education." The Modern Language Journal, vol. 95, no. 4, 2011., pp. 481-495doi:10.1111/j.1540-4781.2011.01237.x.

Alonso Marks, Emilia. "Heritage Language Speakers." Elia: Estudios de lingüística inglesa aplicada, no. 11, 2011., pp. 181-186.

Llombart-Huesca, Amàlia. "Morphological Awareness and Spelling in Spanish Heritage Language Learners." Linguistics and Education, vol. 37, 2015;2017;., pp. 11-21doi:10.1016/j.linged.2016.11.004.

Showstack, Rachel E. "Stancetaking and Language Ideologies in Heritage Language Learner Classroom Discourse." Journal of Language, Identity and Education, 2016., pp. 1-14doi:10.1080/15348458.2016.1248558.

Chang, CB. "Bilingual Perceptual Benefits of Experience with a Heritage Language." BILINGUALISM-LANGUAGE AND COGNITION, vol. 19, no. 4, 2016;2014;., pp. 791-809doi:10.1017/S1366728914000261.

Gegunter050 (talk) 14:59, 15 February 2017 (UTC)

Draft

1. Edit of the introduction (what is a Heritage language?) and an addition of language loss and/or the distinction between heritage language and native language
2. Alexa - Vocab and complementarity principle, and Alternative Acquisition Theories...Anna - Learning Contrasts and Pedagogy...Mckenzie - ending heritage language learning and identity and heritage language learning...Grace - see number 1
3. Addition and editing of subsections - see below

Heritage Language Learning

According to a commonly accepted definition by Valdés (2000), heritage languages are generally minority languages in society and are usually learned at home during childhood. According to Polinsky and Kagan (2007), the key to understanding heritage language is recognizing that this language was acquired first, but was not completely acquired due to the transition of learning the dominant language of the community. When a heritage language learner grows up in an environment with a dominant language that is different from their heritage language, the learner appears to be more competent in the dominant language and often feels more comfortable speaking in that language (Valdés 2000). Along with the term "heritage language," other terms that are considered to be interchangeable with this one include, "community language," "home language," and "ancestral language (Hummel 2014)."

A "heritage language learner" is someone who is learning a language which is culturally tied to them and which has not been the first or dominant language during their language acquisition (McCarty 2002). Heritage languages can be learned in different ways, such as through public school instruction or even through language courses organized by a community which speaks the particular language during after school hours or on the weekend (Hummel 2014). When someone is engaging in heritage language learning or acquisition informally, they are learning a language from a particular ethnolinguistic group that traditionally speaks the language, or from someone whose family historically spoke the language. Formal heritage language instruction typically happens inside of a classroom where learners are taught a language that is being used inside of the home or among members of their own ethnic group (Hummel 2014). There are also different kinds of heritage language learners, such as learners who have varying levels of proficiency in the particular heritage language, and also those who learn a "foreign" language in school which they have some connection with (McCarty 2002). Polinsky & Kagan (2007) label heritage language learners on a continuum that ranges from fluent speakers to individuals who speak very little of their heritage language. As pointed out by Fishman (2001), a connection with a heritage language does not have to be made only through direct previous exposure to the language or a certain amount of proficiency in the language. For example, for monolingual English-speaking students of Armenian ancestry in the United States, their heritage language could indeed be considered to be Armenian.

There are some common problems among heritage language learners, which are related to incomplete acquisition in childhood, or possibly even related to learning a different dialect of the heritage language than the dialect which is being instructed (Valdés 2005). For children who may have acquired a different dialect of the heritage language, they would require a specifically unique type of instruction that may differ from styles of instruction that would be most beneficial for students who experience incomplete acquisition at an early age (Valdés 2005).

According to Valdés (2005), there is an issue with the definition "heritage language" as it is now used very broadly and refers to minority languages which are spoken by what many know as "linguistic minorities." Typically, these heritage languages are endangered or have a high possibility of disappearing soon without intervention, and because of this, there are several communities in the United States who have chosen to put work towards maintaining these languages. Language programs that include Saturday schools and courses that happen outside of school hours as mentioned previously, are programs where children are encouraged to further develop and improve their heritage language proficiency.

Hummel, Kirsten M. (2014). Introducing Second Language Acquisition: perspectives and practices. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Inc. Print. McCarty, T. L. (2002). A place to be Navajo: Rough Rock and the struggle for selfdetermination in indigenous schooling. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Valdés, Guadalupe. "Bilingualism, Heritage Language Learners, and SLA Research: Opportunities Lost or Seized?" The Modern Language Journal 89.3 (2005): 410-26. Web.

Native Language

In some countries or cultures where one's mother tongue is determined by their ethnic group, a heritage language would be linked, but not the same as the native language. A native language is a language that is the first acquired (L1) and the dominant language in childhood. A person's native language is usually the language that one is most comfortable with, achieving fluency at an early age. In the native language, the speaker has higher linguistic abilities, like writing creatively, making jokes, and translating (Davies 1991).

The difference between native language and heritage language is an important distinction to make, because often, the terms are confused. The term "native language" tends to be associated with acquisition at a very early age and carries with it the notion that a person will achieve a high amount of fluency and proficiency in this language. Typically, the native language is the dominant language for a speaker and this speaker is expected to have natural understanding of not only linguistic knowledge, but also pragmatic and cultural knowledge (Davies 1991). On the other hand, the term "heritage language" is more associated with the language that proficiency was sacrificed in order to gain proficiency in the dominant language in a particular community. This is not always the case, however, as some speakers of heritage languages have just as much proficiency in that language as in their other language(s).

Davies, Alan. "17 The Native Speaker in Applied Linguistics." The handbook of applied linguistics (1991): 431.